Healthcare API company PokitDok announced last week that it has selected the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Sawtooth as its premier platform for recording DokChain healthcare transactions. Hyperledger Sawtooth is an open source blockchain project contributed by Intel.
DokChain is PokitDok’s implementation of blockchain for healthcare and is the centerpiece of an alliance among health systems, insurers, technology, the company said.
PokitDok maintains trading partnerships, connecting with more than 550 health insurers and payers to enable seamless data exchange for identity verification, eligibility checks, claims processing, authorizations, and medical referrals, according to the company.
Data, regardless of where it originates, is maintained and verified across an encrypted, distributed network that utilizes Hyperledger Sawtooth and Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX).
“Blockchain is fundamental to the next computing cycle and will introduce new dimensions of compute power, speed, and security,” said Ted Tanner, Jr., co-founder and CTO, PokitDok. “In the healthcare sector, protecting patient data is paramount, as is sharply reducing blatant inefficiency, which is why we chose to work with Intel to do business on the blockchain.”
Intel SGX is an Intel technology for application developers like PokitDok, seeking to protect select code and data from disclosure or modification. Intel SGX makes such protections possible through the use of “enclaves” which are protected areas of execution.
Within these protected enclaves, Hyperledger Sawtooth’s unique consensus mechanism, “Proof of Elapsed Time”, uses Intel SGX for an economical leader election process. Hyperledger Sawtooth also offers customizable transaction families, which enable PokitDok to create blockchain solutions tailored to the needs of the healthcare industry.
“Intel SGX can help improve blockchain scalability, security, and privacy,” said Jerry Bautista, vice president New Technology Group and general manager of Intel’s New Business Group. “With Hyperledger Sawtooth, PokitDok can utilize Intel SGX and other hardware platform capabilities to enhance and increase protection of their healthcare system.”
PokitDok’s announcement represents a step forward in the development of blockchain smart contracts that can manage and resolve patient identities, control access to personal health records, automatically adjudicate healthcare claims, and power a complex supply chain for medical environments.
